Electric buses, electric boats and electric cars. How Moscow is shifting to green transport
The green trend has covered almost all areas of our lives, including the food industry, fashion, and the construction market, transport is no exception though. Countries across the globe are abandoning gasoline-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles, Moscow having pulled ahead in using environmentally friendly transport.
Electric transport is the future, so its development, in accordance with Sergei Sobyanin’s orders, is one of our top priorities. Already today, Moscow is Europe’s leader by the number of electric buses, and it will double in the coming years. We have recently launched the first-ever year-round regular electric boat route — unique not only for Russia, but also for the whole world — and we are preparing to open the second one. More and more Muscovites are choosing electric cars as their personal transport. And we are creating a comfortable environment and installing charging stations for them. Electric cars, including the domestically manufactured Moskvich-3e, are added to taxi and car sharing fleets. We are doing our best to make Moscow the number one city in terms of using environmentally friendly transport. 
Moscow, boasting Europe’s largest EV fleet, was one of the first to launch electric buses, motivating those who choose to shift to electric cars to use them instead of conventional transport. On the World EV Day, which has been celebrated on September 9 since 2020, we will tell you how Moscow is fighting to reduce emissions of harmful substances into air and water, how long it takes to charge electric buses, electric boats and electric cars, and how to invest in green bonds to make profits on greening the city.
Moscow is the world’s pacesetter by electric bus fleet
Electric buses are the pride of Moscow; this year they turned five years old. In 2018, the local authorities began to gradually replace buses, so today Moscow ranks number one in Europe by electric bus fleet, over 1,200 EVs running along more than 90 routes.
In 2022, the city got Russia’s first electric bus garage of Krasnaya Pakhra, which occupies 10 hectares and is capable of maintaining 450 big electric buses. Serving 24 conventional and 5 electric bus routes, it in fact helped launch innovative transport in TiNAO.
The second — Mitino — electric bus garage designed to serve 300 environmentally friendly high-tech vehicles , which run from Mitino to more than 10 destinations, thus improving transport connectivity between the north-west and other districts with waiting times at stops having become quite shorter . And it is expected that they will serve 23 green routes by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the municipality is going to open another electric bus garage — Saltykovka — in Novokosino.
We have asked Alexey Sobakin, Director of Electric Fleet Directorate, Mosgortrans (an ECS provider), why it is important to boost green transport.
Using an electric bus instead of a conventional one reduces CO2 emissions by 60 tons per year. In addition, electric vehicles ride more easily, quietly and smoother. These are cutting-edge vehicles with climate control, satellite navigation, USB ports for charging mobile devices and media signage. 
The city is installing ultra-fast charging stations for electric buses, Alexey Sobakin adds. Normally available at electric bus garages, final stops and along the routes, they can be used, in particular, at Moscow’s record temperatures, from minus 40 to plus 40 degrees Celsius, in fact. To date, the city has already got more than 240 stations, with over 380 in all to be set in 2023–2024.
Moscow will continue to develop its electric bus network with 1,200 new EVs to be delivered to Mosgortrans in 2023 and 2024, the advanced machines being able to ride up to 80 kilometers after recharge, featuring fully electric heating on top of everything else. All of them are made in Russia and maintained under life cycle contracts, that is, once they are delivered to the city, the manufacturer bears full responsibility for their technical serviceability for 15 years.
Moscow buys electric buses, in particular, using Moscow’s green bonds. Two-year public green bonds, which were issued this summer, were used to purchase more than 50 electric buses involving the funds raised from Muscovites and residents of other regions. Those who invest in the bonds can gain virtually risk-free income and also become co-investors in the environmentally significant project, thus helping the municipality take another step towards a healthier and more comfortable environment. Earlier — in 2021 — the local government bought 400 electric buses using funds it had earned from selling green bonds on the Moscow Exchange.
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Pioneering electric boats
Now eco-friendly transport runs not only along the city’s streets, but also along its main waterway as Moscow is reviving scheduled river transport. This summer, the world’s first-ever year-round electric vessels began sailing along the Moscow River; on June 20, the authorities launched the Kiyevsky — Heart of the Capital route, to extend with 5 more berths to reach Fili Park in the future, while another, ZIL — Pechatniki, is expected by the year end. An electric boat can be used in the same way as any other city transport — passengers getting on and off at any stop, or rather a pier, they want and pay for the fare with Troika Travel Cards, bank cards or Face Pay.
Like electric buses, electric boats are assembled in Russia; they can accommodate up to 50 passengers, and on board there are seats for PRM passengers, tables, media signage, USB ports and sockets for charging gadgets, plus areas for scooters or bicycles.
Whereas a diesel boat emits 45 kilograms of pollutants into the water and 2 tons of carbon dioxide into the air per day, new river boats are safe for the environment and create no risk of oil products spilling into the water area during refueling; the related infrastructure is also environmentally friendly, Vladimir Basmanov, Deputy Director of the “Organizator Perevozok” State Unitary Institution, says.
Charging stations are located at mooring points both at the starting point and at the point of destination, as well as at floating berths (stops). A specially designed mooring and charging system built into the gangway automatically secures and charges an electric boat, and it will take half an hour to charge it from empty-to-full, with no harmful substances entering either the air or the water. Passengers can in fact avail themselves of the latest solutions. To pass on board a diesel ship, you cannot use Face Pay, a Troika or a bank card — the conductor will have to approach you with a POS terminal, while on board an electric boat you actually can and you will also be able to charge your smartphone. 
Next-gen river transport produces no vibrations, no smoke and no external noise getting inside the cabin. And the boats are frost-proof and able to navigate on finely crushed ice, so they will carry passengers all year round according to a schedule, whatever the weather is. Harsh winter is no problem for batteries either, Vladimir Basmanov says, and they will withstand low temperatures and will not become obsolete over time.
“Technically, we can replace batteries after seven years, but not because they reach their ‘expiration date’; by that time, we’ll have new ones that will increase the range,” he predicts.
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Supporting the green trend
The municipality rewards Muscovites who have swapped their conventional cars for EVs as today one can use the capital’s electric charging stations (ECSs) for free, moreover, electric car owners have been also exempt from vehicle tax since 2020. Victoria Eremina, Strategy Director for the Energy of Moscow project under the Moscow Department of Transport, notes that the municipal support measures have resonated with Muscovites.
The benefits encourage residents to choose environmentally friendly transport. In the first six months of 2023 alone, the number of registered electric cars grew by more than 50 per cent and reached 5,200. Unlike owners of cars with internal combustion engines, Moscow’s EV users currently do not need to always pay for fuel, which saves money. In addition, electric cars are less noisy, being a good type of transport that can easily withstand our climatic conditions. 
Moreover, the charging infrastructure in Moscow is growing rapidly and today an electric car battery can be charged at more than 3,200 stations, over 200 of them installed under of the Energy of Moscow program. In September, the city will get 150-kilowatt stations, which can recharge an EV in half an hour, with a total of 250 new, more powerful stations to be set by the end of the year; the number of ECSs in Moscow is expected to reach 11,000 by 2030.
They are equipped with relevant connectors, so all modern electric cars can be connected to them. On the Moscow Transport mobile app, users can book or activate a charging station, or build a route to the nearest ECS. You can also find a suitable station, check its status — vacant or occupied — and also start or end the charging session on the Yandex. Refueling app featuring approx. 200 ECSs of the Energy of Moscow project.
“We are developing infrastructure in such a way that the charging process is as convenient as possible for electric car owners. We set stations in popular locations — near shopping malls, business centers or residential quarters. You can charge your car and go to do groceries or to the cinema, or to have workout at the gym. If you use your car to travel around the city, you can drive for several days on average with a full charge. We expect that with the transition to electric transport, emissions of harmful substances will decrease by approximately 35 per cent by 2041,” noted Victoria Eremina.
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